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Zat'nik'tel
|name=Zat'nik'tel |manufacturer=Goa'uld |model=Personal weapon |type=Energy weapon |cost= |discharge=Electrical energy |control=Trigger |power=Naquadah |size= |weight= |range= |affiliation=*Goa'uld *Jaffa *Tok'ra *Federation, Starfleet *Starfleet Marine Corps *Military Assault Command Operations *Stargate Command }} The Zat'nik'tel, also known as a Zat or Zat gun by Colonel Jack O'Neill, is a handheld energy weapon designed by the Goa'uld. It is one of the most common weapons utilized by the Jaffa and Tok'ra, being easy to conceal and extremely lethal. They are known to have been in use by the Goa'uld Empire for at least five thousand years. It is in the shape of a serpent and was first encountered by SG-1 on Apophis's Ha'tak. Its energy output, in the form of blue electrical energy, is less powerful than that of a Staff weapon. It's an extremely efficient weapon and is used extensively by the Goa'uld, Tok'ra, Jaffa and Federation, being easy to conceal and extremely lethal. In recent years, the zat has become a second back-up weapon for personnel assigned to the teams of Stargate Command and who often go off-world with the zat itself often being seen in the thigh holster of various teams with one notable example being Major/Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter who during her tenure on SG-1 was seen wearing a thigh holster with a zat inside. In addition, security guards assigned to the SGC also use the weapon as a means of protecting themselves if they run into any difficulty or if they need to sedate a prisoner who has escaped the custody of the SGC. The weapon quickly became a favorite tool for SG-1 and other Stargate Command units, frequently carried off-world as standard-issue equipment. The SGC has captured numerous Zats, and SGC teams sometimes use them within the SGC and on missions. Overview Visually, the Zat'nik'tel's design resembles a Goa'uld symbiote. The weapon is activated by squeezing a switch on the bottom curve of the gun. Following this initial activation, each subsequent press fires a directed energy beam from the "mouth" of the goa'uld. When deactivated, the weapon becomes more-compact with the top section folding down several inches. The Zat'nik'tel is unique in its operation compared to other weapons. One shot will incapacitate a victim and cause immense pain. A second shot will kill them. A third shot will disintegrate the victim and their clothing. It will also disintegrate small inanimate objects with low densities, leaving no visible trace of their existence. These shots do not have to be fired consecutively as some individuals have been killed several minutes after the first Zat blast. However, an extended period of time between shots will cause the effect to wear off and two new shots will be necessary to kill. In this intermediate period, the victim's body will possess a mild electrical charge which will gradually decrease within a matter of minutes. The zat'nik'tel emits a translucent blue blast upon being fired. This blast resembles the shape of a quickly-oscillating sine wave bisected by a horizontal line. The blast travels in a straight line and leaves in its wake a trail several meters in length until it is ultimately absorbed by its target. If shot at either an individual or an inanimate object, the blast will engulf the entire body of the object in shimmering bands of energy that will persist for several seconds until it has been fully absorbed. While a zat'nik'tel blast will not cause explosive damage, a single blast will generally short out most electrical devices with ease. When shot at a small fire, however, it will cause a rapid increase in flame-size for several seconds. The blast of a zat'nik'tel is able to travel through conductive materials. As such, if fired at one end of a steel beam, the blast will travel the beam's length, emerging from the other side. Zat'nik'tel specifics Zat'nik'tels are fired by squeezing the bottom curve where the gun is held. The Zat is unique in the way it works. One shot is shown to incapacitate a victim and causes immense pain, while a second shot kills them. The shots do not have to be right after the other, as some have been killed several minutes after the first Zat blast; however, an extended period of time between shots will cause the effect to wear off and two new shots will be necessary to kill (as evidenced by Colonel Jack O'Neill's being shot a variety of times throughout SG-1's various exploits). A third shot will disintegrate the victim and their clothing, and will also disintegrate small inanimate objects with low densities, leaving no visible trace of their existence. The Zat has been shown to conduct through objects, stunning victims indirectly. The weapon has also been used as a tool to boost hyperdrive speed when O'Neill used Ancient knowledge and required a short, powerful jolt to the modified engines, but is used as a tool to overload electronics in most cases as many conduits are not designed to handle that much energy in one blast. It is capable of disabling Aschen defense drones with one shot. Zats have been shown to have little or no effect on Kull warriors and Replicators, but they affect all other known species, including the Xindi. It also appears that repeated attacks by this weapon causes most people to not suffer its effects with as much severity, as seen in cases where certain people are able to withstand the effects and remain conscious after a single shot. The second shot, on the other hand, is invariably fatal (on non-immune species) with only a single exception shown: When Major Samantha Carter's consciousness was replaced by an alien Entity, two shots left her body only brain-dead, allowing her consciousness to be transferred back into it. Zat blasts can be caught and rendered harmless by a Kara kesh as shown by Cronus when he was fired upon by Typhuss. Also Setesh activated his shield on his Kara kesh which absorbed the blasts fired at him by SG-1. Gallery SG1 firing zats.jpg|SG-1 firing Zats Zat fire.jpg|A Zat being fired Zat combat fire.jpg|SG-1 firing Zat guns Kull Armor Zat effect.jpg|Zat blast rendered ineffective on Kull armor Zat'n'ktel discharge.jpg|Discharge Zat holster.jpg|A Zat holster SerpantGuardZatSHot11.jpg|The effects of being shot with a zat ZatDisentigration11.jpg|A zat's third shot disintegrating a serpent guard High Noon.jpg|Several Jaffa and Tok'ra wielding zat'nik'tels Sam Zat.jpg|Samantha Carter with a zat Category:Weapons Category:MACO weapons Category:Goa'uld technology